Orange You Glad I Test These Things Out?

Orange is everywhere this time of year.

If you're anywhere near East Tennessee then you know what I'm talking about. Orange eeks out here and there in the summer months, but the moment Labor Day weekend dawns, orange bubbles forth from every corner of the city.

I remember the very first time I saw UT orange. I was a teenager (please bare that in mind) and I was walking into West Town Mall on a visit from Florida and I said, "boy that's an ugly color". Praise God no one besides my family heard me, or I'm quite certain I would have been tackled.

What's funny is if 12 year old me would have been told that 28 year old me would be going out in search of the color to wear on my nails....she wouldn't have reacted well.

But going out in search of UT orange nail polish is exactly what I did on Friday.

That whole pink/red/orange color family is a funny thing. They can look like an entirely different hue in some lights as opposed to others.

The orange I ended up with is called "A Roll in the Hague". It's actually the corally orange I was looking for back in July.  A search that ended with me buying something more red then I wanted. Hmm...maybe next time I need to go out looking for the opposite of what I want!

I do like this color a lot. It's nice and bright and cheery, but it's a deep enough hue to be appropriate for this time of year when we're getting ready to Fall ;)

What I had in mind for this weeks nails, was taking a crack at striping the color with matte and shiny intervals. I've seen several places now how to do this with some matte-fying nail polish so I started it with one finger, aaaaaand it didn't work out. Even though my polish was dried for over 12 hours, when I pulled the tape off my nail it took some of the laquer with it.

I did finish the nail, but the effect wasn't as great as I thought it would be. It's a very intricate process (you wouldn't think so, but it is) because you have to let the paint dry over the tape but not for too long. You somehow have to be aware of the perfect moment to peel it off and...well I wasn't willing to do that nine more times.

Oh well. Good thing the color is fun and almost festive :)